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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28383270">You can't run forever</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mazeem/pseuds/Iluvbeyblade'>Iluvbeyblade (Mazeem)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Bakuten Shoot Beyblade</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Childhood Trauma in chapter 5, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Made up Language, Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net, Serious Injuries, Unrealistic ... Everything, Using the Archive as an archive, this is 15 years old be kind</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2005-11-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2005-11-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-11 01:08:22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>9,068</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28383270</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mazeem/pseuds/Iluvbeyblade</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>What's wrong with Hilary? Why does she want to get back to the house as quickly as possible? And what is Ray supposed to do about it?</p><p>Ancient fic repost from ffnet</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Kon Rei | Ray Kon/Tachibana Hiromi | Hilary Tachibana</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Hey Hil," Ray called down, "you OK?" How dumb can you get? thought Hilary, irritated by Ray's constantly cheery voice. I'm so tired I can't see straight and my hands are rubbed black and blue from these stupid rocks! Sure, I'm just <em>fine!</em></p><p> </p><p>"Yeah, I'm fine Ray." she said wearily, for what had to be the twentieth time. Who's stupid idea had this been anyway? Oh yeah,Kai's, who else's!</p><p>"<em>98,99,100!" said Hilary, laying the brush down triumphantly, admiring her shiny brown hair.</em></p><p>"<em>Do you really have to spend that long on your hair?" came an amused voice from the doorway.</em></p><p>"<em>You should know that better than I do, Ray!" Hilary laughed, looking pointedly at the teenage boy's black, knee-length ponytail.</em></p><p>"<em>Hilary, I'm a guy!" Ray protested.</em></p><p>"<em>So?"</em></p><p>"<em><strong>So</strong> I don't bother about making sure every single hair's in place, whether it's straight enough, blah, blah,blah!" Hilary raised her eyebrows.</em></p><p>"<em>What's got you into such a stress?" she asked quizzically.</em></p><p>"<em>Oh, nothing much. Kai wants to speak to you, by the way."</em></p><p>"<em><strong>What! </strong>When?" Hilary said, flustered, racking her brains for what she could've done wrong.</em></p><p>"<em>About five minutes ago." Ray said, smirking. He was enjoying this!</em></p><p>"<em>RAY! Why didn't you tell me?" Hilary shrieked</em></p><p>"<em>Couldn't get a word in edgeways." he smiled. Seeing this, Hilary relaxed a little.</em></p><p>"<em>Why you-"She shook her head at the irrepressible Ray and smiled back at him. "OK then," she sighed. "Let's go see what his majesty wants to talk about." She strode out of the room, pulling Ray's hair as she passed. Hard. Ray blinked a couple of times to stop his eyes from watering, then grinned ruefully and followed her out. There was never a dull moment with Hilary around! </em></p><p>
  <em>Suddenly, from the hotel living room, came the sound of breaking glass, followed by someone laughing until they choked. Cautiously, Hilary and Ray pushed the door open and stood in the doorway, stunned into silence. Kai was standing in front of one of the armchairs, muttering furiously in Russian under his breath, while Max was lying on the sofa, red faced and laughing fit to burst.</em>
</p><p>"<em>Um, Max," asked Hilary, knowing from experience not to talk to Kai until he'd simmered down a bit, "What happened?" Max sat up and tried to get himself back under control.</em></p><p>"<em>Tyson…got Kai…with a…with a …<strong>WHOOPIE CUSHION</strong>!"he managed to get out before collapsing with laughter again. A whoopie cushion? Hilary thought. Well, why not? And she suddenly found herself laughing as hard as Max and Ray.</em></p><p>"<em>The great Kai!" Ray choked out, "Got with a whoopee cushion! Ha ha ha ha…"</em></p><p>"<em>Well I'm glad you think it's so funny." came a cold voice. They spun round, red-faced and gasping, only to instantly sober up under their captain's icy glare. "I'd suggest you all calm down, unless any of you want to follow that…thing?" he said disdainfully, looking over his shoulder at the small hole in the window. "Oh yes, Hilary, I want to talk to you."</em></p><p>"<em>Yes, Kai?" said Hilary nervously.</em></p><p>"<em>Right, you know that today, Ray and I are going rock-climbing," Kai began. </em></p><p>"<em>Yeah," Hilary answered. Typical Kai! she thought wryly. Everyone else would just say "Me and Ray" but Kai had to say "Ray and I"! But, she supposed she couldn't comment on languages. After all, Kai spoke English like it was his mother-tongue and it was correct. Oh well! she sighed mentally. </em></p><p>"<em>Hilary, are you listening?" Kai's acid voice interrupted her daydreaming.</em></p><p>"<em>Y-Yes Kai!" Hillary stammered. Kai narrowed his eyes slightly, not believing her in the slightest. He'd better repeat himself then. God, this was like talking to Tyson! He smiled grimly, thinking of the tongue-lashing the younger boy would get when he next saw him. "So, as I was saying, Ray and I are going hiking. I was intending this to be a team outing, but…" he shook his head and grimaced. Hilary nodded sympathetically. Tyson and Kenny had gone to Tyson's Grandpa for the day and Max…well Max was out for sure. Around a week ago, his appendix had burst and he had been seriously ill for a couple of days. Although he was more or less recovered now, he was under strict orders "not to overexert himself", and a climb with the two toughest members of the Bladebreakers would definitely count as an over-exertion!</em></p><p>"<em>So," Kai continued, a slight edge in his voice as he noticed Hilary's glazed eyes, "I was wondering, if you would like to come with us?" Hilary blinked slightly, surprised. Then she shrugged. </em></p><p>"<em>Yeah, why not?" she said peaceably. It'll do me good to get out, she thought to herself. I don't want to be alone, today of all days. Just hope we're back in time…</em></p><p>"<em>OK," she repeated. "Just let me get changed…"</em></p><p>Hilary smiled, remembering how Ray had thought it would be funny to scare her out of her wits by showing his prowess at jumping off cliffs! It was amazing, she thought, how he always landed on his feet. As she raised her tired hand for the next rock, she slipped, and suddenly she was falling, screaming, down, down…</p><p>Ray launched himself off the cliff, grabbed her in midair and threw her up to Kai, who caught her with one arm and held tight as he watched Ray fall, expertly jumping from rock to rock. "<em>Ray</em>!" Hilary screamed, trying desperately to get free of Kai, accidentally snapping his head back against the rock. Grunting with pain, Kai slammed Hilary back onto the rock face, trying to calm her down.</p><p>"Hilary, you stupid girl! Shut up!" he hissed. "Ray's been falling off cliffs half his life! He knows what he's doing!" And when this failed to calm the by now hysterical girl, he drew a deep breath and slapped her hard round the face. Hilary stopped screaming abruptly, and silence reigned for a few seconds.</p><p>"S-Sorry Kai." Hilary said in a small voice.</p><p>"It's OK, Hilary." the team captain said curtly. He groaned softly, his head pounding like a drum. Hilary suddenly noticed Kai's drawn face and the small trickle of blood coming from the back of his head. Horror-filled, she managed to squeak out,</p><p>"Did <em>I </em>do that?" Kai took a breath, wondering how best to phrase this.</p><p>"Yes, but don't worry about it, I'm fine." he said tightly. "Now, let's go down to Ray and check that he's alright."</p><p>"Okay," said a very subdued Hilary.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>As the two of them made their way back down the rock, Hilary battled with her thoughts, muttering under her breath.</p><p>"Should I have come out today - no something would have happened whether I'd gone out or not, and it might have happened to Max or Kenny - why does this happen to my friends - No wait."</p><p>Her thoughts slowed down a bit.</p><p>"What happened to Ray and Kai was all to do with me. Well at least I know this hasn't started targeting my friends. Not much of a comfort, though, to know that today I've potential to do just about anything ... Hey, I've coped with it for years, I should be fine. But will the rest of the guys? Never mind, as long as I get home soon, nothing really bad can happen."</p><p>
  <em>Can it? </em>
</p><p>With her head in turmoil, she didn't notice that Kai had stopped climbing until her foot hit solid ground. Her eyes flew wide open and she blinked a few times before everything came back into focus. Ray was sitting on the ground, with his back against the cliff and his eyes shut. Scared, she ran over as fast as she could.</p><p>"Ray, are you alright?" Ray opened his eyes.</p><p>"Yeah, I'm fine Hil," he said, taking in how anxious she was, "Twisted my ankle a bit, but it's OK." He stood tentatively on one foot and slowly eased his weight onto his second foot. He winced slightly, but it was obviously bearable. Hilary relaxed and moved away, allowing Kai and Ray to size each other up. Ray whistled softly</p><p>"Hey Kai! What happened to you, then?" he exclaimed, eying the clearly painful wound on the back of his team-mate's head.</p><p>"Oh, nothing much," Kai's voice was indifferent, as usual, but the look he flashed at Ray was very clear. <em>Don't upset Hilary</em>. "Just this little fire-brand didn't believe in your cliff-diving abilities." Ray quickly read in-between the lines. He now knew more or less what had happened up there, and that Hilary blamed herself for it. He would have to be careful.</p><p>"So, guys," Hilary said, interrupting their chain of thought. "Are we carrying on, or going home? And you can stop leaving me out of the conversation!" she snapped, as the other two exchanged glances.</p><p>"Home, then!" muttered Kai wearily, the tension that had been building snapping in an instant. Sensing this, Hilary turned away, pleased with herself, but worried too. She couldn't stay out in the open much longer. It was going to be dangerous enough if she got inside in time… Ray was worried too. When Hilary had been angry, just for a second, there had been a red pinprick of light in the centre of her eye. He decided to keep an eye on her. Something really weird was going on…</p>
<hr/><p>"Hey, guys," Kai said hoarsely, "Wait a minute!" He leaned against a tree-trunk, trying to keep his vision straight. God, he felt so dizzy! Ray swung round, his worst fear confirmed. As he had suspected, the blow Kai had received had given him concussion. He dashed back to check. If it was bad, they would have to stop here and wait until Kai had recovered. He quickly glanced Kai up and down and breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn't nearly as bad as he had expected, but they should probably stay here a for little while, just to be on the safe side.</p><p>"What? Why have we stopped?" Hilary demanded. Then she saw Kai, and her hands flew to her mouth. It wasn't serious, she knew that, but it would mean delays-Wait! What was she talking about! This was her team mate, Kai! If they didn't stop, she knew it could get serious, and here she was, worrying about herself! But if they didn't hurry…oh, she didn't want to <em>think</em> about it. She pulled a face, and turned away sharply.</p><p>Ray looked up quickly. He'd thought it might have been guilt he would see on her face, but there was so much <em>more</em>… Guilt, yes, but also irritation, worry, sadness and…fear? Ray shook himself. He was seeing things again, he told himself firmly.</p><p>"No, you're not," said an amused voice. Ray nearly fell over in shock.</p><p>"Did you just read my mind, Kai?" he asked incredulously.</p><p>"No. You really should be careful of your face when you're thinking, Ray. An open book! Almost as bad as Hilary." Kai chuckled wearily, sinking down to sit on the ground with his back against the tree trunk. Ray latched onto the last thing Kai had said. "So? Do you know what Hilary's thinking then?" he asked.</p><p>"No." Kai's voice was flat and matter-of-fact. "If Hilary normally is an open book, then Hilary now is a book that's been chained, padlocked, and bolted shut. You couldn't get in there with a chainsaw. There's something she doesn't want us to know, and there isn't a hope in hell of us finding out until she does." Ray shivered.</p><p>" 'Cause, Kai, I'm starting to get really worried about her." he admitted roughly. Kai's eyes flickered and he muttered,</p><p>"Yeah…me too…" before slipping into sleep. Sleep? Oh no-</p><p>"<em>Kai</em>! <strong><em>Wake up</em></strong>!" Ray yelled into the older boy's ear, every first-aid lesson he'd ever learned screaming at him, <em>never let a concussed patient fall asleep.</em> He was such an idiot! He should have seen, should have noticed- "Hey Hilary!" he yelled over to where the girl was sitting, hunched up by a tree with her back to them. "Come and help me wake Kai up!"</p><p>Hilary dimly heard Ray shouting her name through a red fog.</p><p>"<em>Not a good idea, Ray</em>." a slimy voice whispered. Hilary froze, terrified.</p><p>"G-Get out of my head, you stinking worm!" she hissed.</p><p>"<em>Oops, bad girl Hilary, you know what happens if you resist…"</em> Hilary screamed silently as a wave of pain swept through her head . She clung on by her fingertips and fought to regain control of her mind.</p><p>"Not yet." she swore silently.</p><p>As Hilary turned around, Ray's heart skipped a beat. It was as if a red mist had fallen over her eyes, and what was looking out of it was the most malevolent, evil presence Ray had ever felt. Instinctively, his pupils contracted and all the hair went up on his neck. Then it blinked, and Hilary was back again, tense and scared, but Hilary again. Ray nearly melted with relief. "Hilary!" he yelled again, "Help me wake Kai up!" As she ran over and started trying to wake Kai up, although she looked in control, inside, she was petrified, couldn't think straight. <em>I can't believe it-it happened-in front of Ray-oh my god that was terrifying-it was worse than ever before-what next?-I've got to get home!</em></p><p>Hilary got up and tried to start running. The second she moved, Ray grabbed her. Sick with fear, Hilary looked down at Ray, who was holding onto her legs for dear life.</p><p>"Ray, let go!" she panted.</p><p>"Never!" he said hotly, holding on even tighter.</p><p>"Ray, you don't understand, I'm-"But even as the larger part of her panicked, a small part was calmly registering that it was, in all probability, too late. Interrupted by her own thoughts, she froze and swallowed dryly. "Ray, what's the time?" she hissed frantically.</p><p>"The time?" Ray squinted at the sky. "About two o'clock."</p><p>"How close?" Hillary said shortly.</p><p>"A minute or so. Why?" Ray heard a thump and looked up to see Hilary falling to her knees.</p><p>"Never mind." Hilary said through clenched teeth "It's too late now, anyway. Guess you can't run forever. Ray," Ray stared at her profile. Slowly, she turned her head to face his. He gasped. Her eyes were starting to glow red. Tears fell from them as she turned away from him. "So now…you know." she said, struggling to talk. "I…can't explain…now, but…promise me…you'll get you and Kai… away from here…now!" Her breathing was growing ragged and she was shaking violently.</p><p>"B-But-"</p><p>"No buts, Ray. Trust me, you… don't want… to know." She smiled wearily and ran her fingers slowly through his hair. "Just… get… away.<strong> NOW</strong>!" She lost control and red flooded through her once again. With a final, desperate, scream, she stood upright in one, long movement. When she swung round to face Ray this time, there was no flicker of Hilary in eyes that burned bright, blood red, teeth bared in a triumphant grin.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Ray backed off, amber eyes fear-filled slits in his white face, canines bared. The Hilary-thing leered at him. "Well, hello, Ray!" Its voice was a cross between Hillary's and a snake's, Ray decided, soft and deceiving. He watched, paralysed, as it strutted over to him, talking as it went. "Bet you're wondering who I am eh? I would be too, if I were you. Which I'm not, thank God! I'm not Hilary either. I'm…let's say, the dark side of Hillary. Yes, that'll do for a beginner."</p><p>It was pleased with this phrase and repeated it a couple of times. When it reached Ray, it bent down and grabbed his hand, squeezing and twisting it cruelly. Ray heard something that sounded like his voice say, "H-Hilary, get off!" Even the pain felt like it belonged to someone else. The thing loved that, though. It put its face close to Ray's and hissed at him triumphantly.</p><p>Kai groaned softly and tried to roll over, the pain in his head so intense he had to bite back vomit. He needed to get up, Ray and Hilary were in danger…</p><p>"Oh, it's no use you calling to your pathetic little friend. She won't be able to answer you. She's taken a comfy back seat, where she can see everything, but can't do a thing about it!" It laughed uproariously, but stopped suddenly and turned around, alerted by a muffled curse.</p><p>Ray felt a sudden surge of admiration. He knew what a bad concussion was like, yet Kai had fought it off, knowing when his team needed him. With a hiss of anger, the Hilary-thing walked quickly over to him and placed a hand on his head.</p><p>"Ah, Kai!" it hissed. "Bit too much of a know-it-all for your own good, you are. Oh well, this shouldn't take long!" It started to push down, digging its fingers into the wound on Kai's head, twisting, slowly, painfully. Kai tried to grab its wrist, but it wriggled easily out of the way, punching him viciously. As Kai slumped, unconscious and bleeding, onto the ground, Ray finally stopped being scared. As his emotions flooded back, he found himself tensing, angry, ready to spring. He got control of himself. It was vitally important that that…thing didn't realise he could move. So, ignoring the excruciating pain in his hand, he steadied himself, and waited for the perfect opportunity.</p><p>"That thing" was walking, if you could call it that, round a bit, obviously enjoying being in control. It moved as if it didn't know how human muscles worked, sometimes on all fours, sometimes on two feet, stumbling like a drunk. Ray listened intently, wondering why it was speaking so quietly, yet with such obvious relish. Then he realised, and his blood boiled with anger. It was insulting Hilary, swearing and gesturing obscenely. "Heh, she's a b b. Weak, puny, insignificant, is it any wonder she hooked up with this bunch of louts! She should be glad I'm here!" it laughed. Ray knew it was goading him, but he couldn't care less. He couldn't hear anything over the roaring of blood in his ears. Slowly but surely, berserk rage was welling up inside him. How dare that…<em>creature</em> say those things about Hilary! By the time the thing got to "louts!", Ray was up and silently stalking it, face twisted with anger, unaware of anything except his lust for a fight.</p><p>As it finished its speech, Ray walked up behind it, footsteps softer than a cat's, eyes narrowed, every sense on a knife-edge. Then he sprang. Forgetting that it was Hilary, he went at it with everything, and for a minute, there was utter chaos as the two of them rolled frantically around on the grass, tearing at each other, biting, kicking, punching. Ray came out of his rage to find himself pinning "the thing" to the ground with his blade raised, pointed straight at its heart. Driger was more than powerful enough to do the job, but…</p><p>"That's right, Ray." the thing hissed, confident now that the light of madness had died from Ray's eyes, "You can't kill me. Because if you do, you'll kill your precious friend too. Or did you forget that?" it finished sarcastically. Ray mentally drew back, his thoughts racing. It was right, he couldn't harm it. But Hilary was still in there, somewhere. He just had to bring her back somehow… Whilst he was racking his brain, the creature below him had been trying to wriggle out of the way. Finding Ray's vice-like grip unbreakable, it tried to rear up. Ray's mind cleared in a flash and he leaned forwards.</p><p>Without thinking, he pulled his head down and kissed Hilary fiercely, biting her lip, filling both their mouths with warm, salty blood. Ignoring it, Ray pressed Hilary closer to him, pressing his lips painfully onto hers. Sitting up warily, not noticing the blood trickling down his bruised lips, he gently touched Hilary's closed eyes. They opened shakily, to show terror, guilt, worry, shock and…something else? Ray shrugged mentally. Who cared? Hilary was back! He tentatively stretched out his arms, Hilary reached up to them, and the two of them hugged and cried with relief and shock.</p><p>"Ray, I'm so sorry…" whispered Hilary, gently reaching out to touch Ray's deepest cut. Ray flinched slightly, placing a hand on hers.</p><p>"Ssh, Hil, it's OK." Hilary yawned widely, suddenly incredibly tired. Through a haze, she saw Ray get up and stumble away, obviously meaning to check on Kai. But he was equally exhausted, and slowly crumpled to the ground in sleep. Hilary yawned again and closed her eyes.</p><p>All of a sudden, Hilary felt herself being slapped round the face. She opened her eyes slowly and found herself confronted by Max's worried face.</p><p>"Hilary! Hilary! Can you hear me?" he was saying, scared.</p><p>"Huh? Max? What are you doing here?" Hilary whispered, confused. "You're supposed to stay at the hotel…"</p><p>Tyson ran up to them. Max took him aside for a second.</p><p>"How's Ray?"</p><p>"Fine. Awake." Tyson said, not meeting Max's eyes. Max grabbed him by the arm, sea-blue eyes fierce.</p><p>"Tyson, bud, what aren't you telling me?" Tyson turned to Hilary, muttering out the corner of his mouth. "It's nothing. Nothing much. Just his hand. You can go and check if you don't believe me."</p><p>"No need." Max said, seeing Ray come slowly out from behind a tree and stagger towards hair had somehow come out from the wrap he kept it in, and was hanging over his face. He nodded his head towards the older boy, and Tyson ran off to help Ray along. Explanations could wait until Ray and Hilary were more with it, he thought, trying to ignore the fact that he'd torn three of his stitches out on the way here. Hilary was more alert now and suddenly noticed someone was missing.</p><p>"Where's Kenny?" she asked. Max swallowed.</p><p>"He's back at Tyson's, calling for an ambulance." he said, hoping Hilary wouldn't blow up at him. She narrowed her eyes, now fully awake, and said sharply,</p><p>"Ambulance? OK, Max. Wait until Ray gets here and then you and Tyson had better do some explaining!" Max sighed. Yup, Hilary was definitely OK! Ray and Tyson suddenly appeared, Ray sitting down with a crash, one of his hands buried in his pocket. He looked exhausted and was covered in cuts and bruises, some worryingly deep, but brightened up a bit when he saw Hilary. They wriggled over until they were sitting next to each other. Max's quick eyes saw that Ray never removed his hand from his pocket.</p><p>"Ray, what happened to your-" He was cut off in midsentence as Ray raised his head warningly. It didn't take a genius to interpret that look, Max thought. <em>Not in front of Hilary.</em> Suddenly, Tyson had a thought.</p><p>"Um, guys…" he said slowly. "Where's Kai?" Tyson and Max looked quickly at Hilary and Ray. Both went visibly paler and Ray's voice was shaky as he answered.</p><p>"Over there…somewhere…" He pointed towards another area of the woods. Mystified, Max and Tyson ran over and stopped dead, struggling not to throw up, horrified at what they saw.</p><p>Kai was slumped, unconscious, against a tree. The back of his head was black with congealed blood, and looked like a broken eggshell. His face was deathly white, making the four triangles on his face glow a sickly shade of dark blue. Only the shallow rise and fall of his chest confirmed he was still alive. Ray staggered up, and stood beside Max, face drawn and pale.</p><p>"Do me a favour, you two. Don't let Hilary see this. I'll explain about everything later, OK?" Max nodded. He knew when it was best to keep your mouth shut. But, boy, there was going to be a whole lot of explaining to do when this was sorted out! He dimly heard Tyson crawling into the bushes to throw up. He heard another thump, closer this time. Looking behind him, he saw Ray sitting on the ground, eyes closed, shaking. Behind <em>him</em> was Hilary, doing much the same thing. Questions raced through Max's head. Had she seen Kai? No. So, what was making them act like this? Shock? They did have a lot to explain! Did he remember to bring those blankets along? He swung a rucksack off his shoulders, and started rummaging through it. Pulling out two large, thick blankets, he wrapped the other two in them. Ray's hand was in the way, so he gently pulled it out of his pocket. Stared. Then swallowed quickly, forcing down nausea. The hand was swollen and bruised, with bone splinters sticking out everywhere, the flesh torn and bloody. Carefully, he covered it up with the blanket, glad that nobody could see his face, and dug his brand-new mobile phone out of his pocket.</p><p>Should've done this ages ago, he thought, furious with himself. Kai needs a hospital soon, or he's a goner. They all need medical attention. He dialled Kenny's number. "Come on, come on, pick up already!" he hissed. Finally, he heard an answering crackle.</p><p>"Kenny. Where are you?" he snapped. "Coming? Good. Also, don't eat anything, unless you <em>really</em> want to see the colour of half-digested food. What? Yes it is that bad! Well, tell them to hurry up!" Tyson stopped in mid-vomit with surprise. Max was never, ever this irritable! He crawled out from behind the bush just in time see Max's knees give way and the blond blader crumple to the floor.</p><p>Max was breathing raggedly, as the adrenaline that had been powering him slowly drained away, and his body painfully reminded him that, only a week ago, it was him who'd been carried off in the ambulance, plus, he'd torn at least three stitches on the way here. Oh well, he thought dazedly, at least I know why they said not to overexert myself.</p><p>"Max! Max! Are you OK?" Max slowly turned his head to see Tyson looking, scared, down at him.</p><p>"I'm…fine, Ty. J-Just tired, that's all…" His voice trailed away. Even talking used up too much energy. He'd be fine once he had a kip… Max's eyes fluttered shut. Trying desperately not to throw up as he noticed the blood coming from the torn stitches, Tyson turned away, his mind racing. Now what? Until Kenny and the paramedics got here, he was the only functioning blader left. There had to be <em>something</em> he could do… Well, he could always try to wake up Ray or Hilary… No use trying Max, he thought. He won't wake up for a while. And Kai… No, don't think about Kai, do <em>not</em> think about Kai. Feeling better now he had a plan, Tyson walked quickly over to Ray and reached out to shake his shoulder. Just as his hand was about to touch Ray's arm, someone yelled out;</p><p>"No! Don't touch him!" The ambulance crew raced up the hill and stopped next to Tyson.</p><p>"Tyson!" panted Kenny. "Where's Max?" Tyson jerked his head backwards. Kenny's face went white as he saw the apparently unconscious Max lying on the ground. "W-What happened?" he gasped.</p><p>"It's OK, Kenny," Tyson said soothingly. "He just tired himself out, that's all."</p><p>"Oh, alright." Kenny said, slightly reassured. "Where's Kai?"</p><p>"What?"</p><p>"Well, Hilary and Ray are over there," Kenny said, gesturing over to where the other two were being gently helped to their feet and onto stretchers. "Max is there, and you're here, so…" He trailed off as Tyson looked away. When he spoke, his voice was so quiet Kenny had to strain to hear it, and he had gone slightly green.</p><p>"He's behind those trees. It's…not a pretty sight."</p><p>"Where?" With a sigh, Tyson stood up and beckoned for the ambulance crew to follow him. He peeled back a layer of vines to reveal Kai's slumped body, looked for a couple of seconds, then ran to the bushes and tried to throw up. But after throwing up so much earlier, he had nothing left; all he could manage was gagging helplessly, the burning taste of stomach acid filling his mouth. He was vaguely aware of the ambulance crew loading Kai onto a stretcher, then somebody was tugging at his arm. It was Kenny.</p><p>"Um, Tyson, they say they don't have enough men to get Max home as well, so, um, they were wondering…"</p><p>"Yeah, sure, Chief. I'll carry him." Tyson stood up, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. He walked over to Max and with a little help from Kenny, loaded the sleeping boy on to his back.</p><p>"What happened?"</p><p>"I don't know." Tyson said shortly.</p><p>"You sure you'll be OK?" asked Kenny, anxiously.</p><p>"Yeah, I'll be fine. Let's get this show on the road!" And Tyson strode off.</p>
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<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Ow!" Tyson yelled. "That hurt!" He wrenched his cut arm out of Hilary's way.</p><p>"Well, if you will fall over, what do you expect?" asked an exasperated Hilary. "Anyway, keep your voice down, you might wake Max up."</p><p>"Fat chance of that!"</p><p>"Tyson!" Hilary exclaimed, shocked.</p><p>"Well, it's true," said Tyson sulkily. "He's been asleep for hours!"</p><p>"And you think <em>you</em> can complain? You should try waiting for you to wake up in the morning!" With a friendly nudge, Ray slid in next to Hilary, and squeezed her hand in greeting. She smiled at him gratefully. Why was Tyson always this <em>stubborn</em>?</p><p>"Hey, Ray!" Tyson's delighted cry tore through her musings and she looked up to see Ray and Tyson slapping hands. She suddenly noticed that Ray's other hand was covered in what looked like…plaster?</p><p>"Ray, what happened to your hand?" she asked, before gasping as she suddenly remembered. She looked down, guilt flooding her.</p><p>"Tyson, could you go and update Mr Dickenson? Now?" Ray said, pointedly. Understanding…sort of… Tyson ran off. Ray turned and knelt down in front of Hilary, taking one of her hands in both of his.</p><p>"Hilary, listen to me. What happened today wasn't your fault. None of it. Do you understand me?" Hilary nodded fractionally, averting her eyes. Ray sighed. It was obvious that she didn't believe him, but until she told everyone what had actually happened, he didn't know what to say. "Come here." he whispered, pulling Hilary towards him. They hugged tightly, Ray gently stroking Hilary's hair, her head buried in his shoulder, the circumstances of their first kiss too strong to attempt a second. She pulled back for a moment.</p><p>"When are we going to tell them?"</p><p>"When Kai's out of theatre. Everyone's got some bits of the story no-one else's heard."</p><p>"But Ray, Kai'll be unconscious when he comes out of theatre!"</p><p>"Yeah, so?" Hilary looked, puzzled, at Ray. She shrugged. She'd find out soon enough. Kai was due out of theatre - if nothing had gone wrong - in about ten, maybe fifteen minutes. Once again, Tyson interrupted her thoughts. The younger boy flopped down opposite her, twisting his baseball cap round and round in his hands.</p><p>"Hil, I'm <strong><em>starving</em></strong>!" Hilary groaned inwardly. But, she reminded herself, at least he had an excuse this time. None of them had eaten since breakfast, and Tyson's breakfast was lying behind a bush over ten miles away, in a decidedly more liquid state than it had been designed for! She looked at her watch and gasped in shock. No wonder he was hungry. It was five o'clock in the evening! They'd been sitting in this waiting room for <em>four hours</em>! And she was starving too! She, Ray, and Tyson looked at each other. Then she dug out her purse, and chucked three ten pound notes at Tyson.</p><p>"Fish and chips shop down the road. Don't care what you get, but it needs to be big!" she snapped.</p><p>Tyson's eyes lit up at the thought. <em>Big. Yum</em>.</p><p>"<em>Okay</em>!" he grinned, running out of the door.</p><p>Ten minutes later, Tyson arrived back, arms filled with paper bags. He tossed the others a bag each, then settled down with his own two bags.</p><p>"Tyson! Why have you got <em>two</em> bags?" groaned Hilary. <em>Typical Tyson! </em>she thought wryly.</p><p>"I was hungry!" Tyson complained.</p><p>"What, too hungry to save some for your best mate?" Everyone's head spun around to see a sleepy, but awake and clearly hungry Max. "C'mon!" he pleaded, stretching out his arms. "I could eat a horse, I'm so hungry!"</p><p>"Will some fish and chips do?" Ray asked lazily.</p><p>"YES! Oh, come on, guys!"</p><p>"Come and get it then!" Tyson teased, holding his second bag just out of Max's reach. Max tried to scramble up, but he was still sleepy and in pain from the broken stitches, His grab went wide and he fell to his knees. Narrowing his eyes in mock annoyance, Max drew his blade. Ray and Tyson tensed up. Max never missed with Draciel. While they were panicking, Max was slowly putting his blade onto his launcher, thinking how he was going to do this. He grinned to himself. If he launched Draciel here…and then here…</p><p>"Let it rip!" he cried. Ray and Tyson flinched backwards. Hillary put her hand over her mouth to stop herself from laughing out loud as she watched Draciel circle the two older boys. This was brilliant! Suddenly, she noticed that all three of them looked worn out. Ray was holding his hand awkwardly against his chest, Tyson was sweating, and Max was clutching his side. They were all pale. Better <em>call it a day,</em> she thought,<em> before something ugly happens</em>. She clapped her hands sharply together.</p><p>"OK guys, that's enough!" she yelled abruptly. "Glad you all want to show off, but, there's no need, really!" Everyone laughed. "Now, give Max the fish and chips and come and sit down!" She scanned them anxiously. Tyson looked more or less normal now, but Ray and Max were obviously suffering. More tired than they'll admit, she thought. And Max's stitches need attention. "Alright, you lot," she said through a mouthful of chips. "When you've all finished, we're going to go to Mr Dickenson and sort everything out."</p><p>"Sort what out?" Ray said, swallowing his own large mouthful of chips.</p><p>"Max needs sewn up and Kai should've come out of theatre ten minutes ago." Hilary answered bluntly. She didn't want to admit it, but she was hoping Ray would forget about telling the others what had happened. Every time she thought about it, she went cold all over, had to think about something else to stop herself from screaming out loud… She shivered slightly.</p><p>"Don't worry, Kai's probably out and they forgot to tell us." said Ray easily, brushing crumbs off his lap. "So, is everyone finished? Tyson! When I say, is everyone finished, that doesn't mean you reach across and swipe as many of Max's chips as you can hold!" Hillary sighed, wondering if Tyson would ever grow up. She doubted it.</p><p>"OK, shall we go?" she asked. The others all muttered an affirmative, except for Tyson, who had too much in his mouth. Groaning inwardly, Hillary stalked off to find Mr Dickenson and Kenny. Heaving himself out of his chair, Ray made to follow her, but stopped suddenly, watching Tyson help Max up. The two younger boys grinned at each other, then made their way out, Max leaning slightly on Tyson. Ray smiled slightly. The two of them were inseparable! He sighed, remembering. He and his old team-mate, Lee, had once been like that. He shook himself. Now was no time for reminiscing! Wincing, the numbing injections they'd given him starting to wear off, he made his way out of the waiting room.</p>
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<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Maxie!"</p><p>"Mom!"</p><p>The others smiled, watching the ecstatic Max hug his mum tightly. "No-one told me you were here!" he said delightedly. Judy Tate looked down at her son, smiling. "Yes, that's because I only turned up five minutes ago!" She suddenly noticed how Max was wincing every time one side of his body touched anything.</p><p>"Are you OK?" she asked worriedly. "Have you torn your stitches?" Max looked gratefully up at his mum. How was it that mums always knew what was wrong?</p><p>"Yeah." he said simply.</p><p>"Come on then, let's get you sorted out!" Judy smiled, gently leading Max over to the door. He pulled out of her reach. "No, mum! I'm staying here 'till we see Kai!" <em>And find out what happened!</em> he added silently.</p><p>"Oh, OK!" chuckled Judy, holding up her hands in submission. She could see she wasn't going to get anywhere.</p><p>"Mr D. told you about Kai, then?" asked Ray, who'd noticed that Judy hadn't shown any surprise when Max had mentioned him. Judy nodded.</p><p>"Stanley told me just before you all came in." Mr Dickenson coughed importantly.</p><p>"Ah-hem, should we go through?" Everyone nodded, and Kenny pushed open the door. They followed him down a corridor till they reached one marked; <strong>Intensive Care - Private</strong>. This time, it was Max's mum that opened the door, and they all stepped inside, suddenly nervous.</p><p>The second Hilary stepped inside the room, the part of her brain that worked without thinking kicked into action, looking round the room. <em>IV, drip, oxygen mask, thing for measuring blood pressure </em>- Silently telling her brain to shut up, she took a couple of steps further into the room and looked towards where the others stood, finally realising how serious Kai's condition was. Kai was lying in the hospital bed, surrounded by bleeping machines, his head swathed in a large bandage, face covered by an oxygen mask, tubes everywhere. She swallowed, guilt flooding over her again. Seeing her face, Ray knew they had to tell the others, now, what had happened, before Hilary lost it completely. He threw himself down in a chair with a sigh.</p><p>"OK guys. You want to know what happened." It was a statement, not a question. Everyone nodded. "All right then. I guess I'd better start." He took a deep breath.</p><p>Five minutes later- "And then I grabbed Hilary and threw her up to Kai."</p><p>"What happened to you?" asked Max.</p><p>"Jumped." Ray said shortly. He looked across at Hilary, silently asking her to carry on. Hilary looked blankly at him. What was Ray asking her? Why had he stopped? She blinked slowly and looked away, fresh guilt pouring through her. <em>It was my fault… All my fault… </em>Ray bit his lip, wincing as he nipped a bruise. Hilary was in no state to talk.</p><p>A muffled sound rang out behind them. Everyone's head turned towards the hospital bed. Kai's hand twitched impatiently towards his head. Understanding, Ray leaned forwards and carefully removed the oxygen mask from Kai's face.</p><p>"Ray, I really don't think you should be doing that…" said Judy tentatively.</p><p>"Well, we're just lucky the nurses here believe in privacy, aren't we?" Ray said grimly as he drew back, watching as Kai slowly opened his exhausted violet eyes.</p><p>"That is <em>not</em> possible!" muttered an incredulous Kenny. "Kai should <em>not </em>be awake! There is absolutely<em> no</em> way-"</p><p>"Ssh!" hissed Max, nudging Kenny fiercely. "This is <em>Kai </em>we're talking about, remember?"</p><p>"Yeah, but still-"</p><p>"Kenny. Shut up. Now."</p><p>"Yes Max. Sorry."</p><p>Kai closed his eyes briefly. When he started talking, his voice was barely audible, interrupted by rasping, laboured gasps for breath. "So, after Ray decided… to show off his cliff-diving, I was left up… there with Hilary…" There wasn't much to tell, though Tyson wasn't only person who swallowed when Kai got the part about Hilary panicking and kicking him in the head.</p><p>"Ouch! Sounds painful!" Max commented, wincing at the thought.</p><p>"Nah, I've… had… worse…" Kai's voice trailed away and he slowly shut his eyes. Judy stepped up. "Kai needs to rest now." she said firmly.</p><p>"Yeah." Ray agreed, replacing the mask over Kai's face. "I'll carry on."</p><p>"Are you sure?" Judy asked anxiously. "You might want to leave it till tomorrow…"</p><p>"No, it's fine, really." Ray said reassuringly, hoping no-one would notice how much he was shivering. He gulped and started again. "So, they'd got to the bottom of the cliff , and I'd noticed Kai's head looked painful, so I decided to keep an eye out for any signs of concussion or anything. Then, next, we were walking back to the hotel, and Kai was starting to get dizzy and stuff, so we stopped. Then, me and Kai started talking about Hilary."</p><p>"Hilary? Why?" Tyson asked.</p><p>"Because…well, when she'd got angry before, right, there'd been…oh I don't know, some sort of red light in her eyes."</p><p>"Red light?"</p><p>"In her eyes?"</p><p>"Yeah…"</p><p>Ray shook himself and turned to Max and Tyson. "So, before I carry on, mind if I ask you two something?" The two boys exchanged glances.</p><p>"Sure, fire away."</p><p>"How did you two know where we were? And why we needed help?" They exchanged looks again, Max's hand unconsciously creeping to his hurt side. Spotting this, Tyson answered.</p><p>"Well, when me and Kenny were going round town, we suddenly got this really strong feeling that summing, I dunno, had gone wrong, like someone was hurt or something. So we ran back to check on Gramps and he was fine, so we rang Max up. He'd got that…feeling too, and he was running around like a headless chicken, so me and Kenny came over as fast as we could."</p><p>"I'd already packed some stuff, so we made Kenny phone the ambulance, grabbed a map and ran off to find you all." finished Max. He wasn't in the mood for long speeches, his side hurt like crazy.</p><p>"Oh." Ray wasn't that surprised. He was too damn <em>tired</em> to be surprised. "Just one more question. What time did you get this feeling?"</p><p>"About two. Why?"</p><p>"You'll see in a minute. Right, where was I?"</p><p>"You and Kai were talking about Hilary."</p><p>"Thanks. So, we finished talking and I wasn't watching Kai enough, and he went to sleep." Everyone winced.</p><p>"Yes, I know it was stupid." said Ray, the self-disgust he felt plain in his tone. "So, of course, I panicked. Hilary was sitting a bit away from us with her back to us. I yelled to her to come and help me and…and…"</p><p>He broke off, tried to compose himself, his breathing quickening. "She turned around and-" He stopped again, wrapping his arms around himself. Shaking, his eyes closed, he tried to speak, couldn't, saw again what'd happened when Hilary had turned around, felt all the hair go upon his neck- "Driger, help me!" he sobbed out. A green light lit up the room. A massive white tiger leapt out of nowhere, gently brushing against everyone. Every person in the room suddenly knew exactly what had happened, felt the evil, malevolent presence, saw the red glow fill the room. As the light and the tiger died away, it was a shaken group who turned towards Ray, wanting answers.</p><p>Hilary was floating in a dark mist. <em>My fault…it was all my fault…everything was my fault…</em></p><p>Ray was sitting in the chair with his legs drawn up and his head resting on his knees, face hidden from sight. Tyson stepped hesitantly forwards.</p><p>"Ray?" he asked shakily. Ray raised his head. His voice shook as he replied.</p><p>"I don't have any more answers, OK?" He leaned over to Hilary, who hadn't moved since sitting down and whispered softly into her ear. "<em>Dhan a kha mia di." </em>He moved back to his seat and put his head back down on his knees.</p><p>"<strong><em>Dhan a kha mia di." Wake up, my lost one</em></strong><em>. Ray? Is that you? I can't tell them, they'll blame me, they should blame me, it's my fault. But…I don't know, maybe I should…they have a right to know…Okay…I'll try…</em></p><p>Hilary blinked and woke up.</p><p>Her eyes were bleak as she looked round the room.</p><p>"So, Ray's told you has he?" Her voice was <em>too</em> calm, Tyson thought anxiously. Hilary sighed. "OK, then. But it's not going to be pretty." Judy abruptly stood up and took a step forwards.</p><p>"Stop it! There's no point in telling everyone things that are just going to make you all upset!" she said fiercely, almost shouting. "Please," she pleaded, her voice softening "Save it for tomorrow." No-one looked at the unhappy woman except Max, who smiled gently at his mother and shook his head.</p><p>"Leave it, mum." Judy tried to reply, but was interrupted by a muffled voice.</p><p>"He's right, Judy." She looked, shocked into Kai's eyes. The flame in them flickered in dismissal, then faded as Kai fell into unconsciousness again . Judy turned on her heel and walked quickly out of the room, closely followed by Mr Dickenson and Kenny, who was looking decidedly green. As one, the remaining Bladebreakers turned to face Hilary, who carried on as if nothing had happened.</p><p>"Ten years ago, when I was four, there was a massive house fire. I was upstairs, fast asleep, when the fire alarm went off. I woke up and didn't know what it was for a minute, then I realised. I ran for the door, then remembered about my sister. She was only about six months old, didn't have a clue what was going on. I raced into her bedroom and picked her up. I stood still and listened, trying to work out where the fire was. Judging by the fact that there was no smoke, yet, I reckoned that the fire was still pretty small and probably downstairs. I was only four, wanted my mum so much I could've screamed, but if she wasn't here, I was gonna get my sister out of there, through hell or high water. Unfortunately, I didn't know that my sister's bedroom door - not the one that connected her bedroom with mine, the main one - was specially designed to block fire for as long as possible. This was a big problem because it also blocked the smell and sound of the fire. So, when I opened the door, I was <em>completely</em> unprepared for the raging inferno just outside. I slammed the door shut and screamed." Hillary's voice was emotionless. She could have been reading a documentary. But it was her eyes that were scaring Max and Tyson. They were blank, glazed. It was like she was dead inside. The two of them looked at each other and shuffled closer together, both more scared than they'd admit.</p><p>"Once I'd stopped screaming, my sister decided she'd start. So I almost didn't hear the voice yelling our names." Hillary's eyes glazed over as she remembered…</p><p>"<em><strong>Hilary! Annie! We're coming! Just hold on!"</strong></em></p><p>"<em><strong>Mummy! Where are you?" the four-year old Hilary screamed, running towards where she thought the sound had come from. She tripped over, recovered herself and realised she'd lost the sound of her mother's voice. "Mummy? Mummy! Help!" she screamed desperately as she looked up and saw a massive piece of the ceiling poised to fall on her and Annie. Faintly, she heard her mother's voice again, and stumbled blindly towards it, tears of terror evaporating in the intense heat. She paced up and down beside the window, knowing that her mum was out there, but not brave enough, or strong enough to open, and jump through, the window. She beat helplessly on the glass with her fists, yelling as loud as she could, petrified.</strong></em></p><p>Hilary stopped talking, choked with tears, overwhelmed by the memories. Ray raised his head long enough to give her a reassuring nod. She swallowed and dived back into the past.</p><p>
  <strong> <em>Hearing an unsteady creak, dreading what she might see, she turned around slowly, stood there, frozen. The piece of ceiling was slowly, slowly, slipping downwards. Hilary watched, paralysed with fear as it swung down, peeling away piece by piece. As if in slow motion, it fell, Hilary standing there, petrified, still with Annie in her arms. She looked slowly down at the screaming baby. Suddenly, everything went red. Must be something to do with the fire, thought Hilary absently. Unexpected rage filled her. No stinking fire was getting it's hands on her sister! Hers! No-one else's! With a shriek, she ran at the window, using her whole body to break the glass. She jumped out, still holding Annie tightly, and the two of them landed safely in the net below the window. Her parents ran up to them and Hilary was hugged so tightly she could barely breathe. It would take a long time before she stopped having nightmares about that night…</em> </strong>
</p><p>"It was only a year later, when my mum told me that my eyes had been glowing red when I'd come out."</p><p>"Why'd she only tell you then?" asked Tyson, puzzled. Max sighed. He would have kicked Tyson, but he didn't have the strength.</p><p>"Because it happened again, you idiot!" he snapped.</p><p>"What, the fire?" Max would have walloped him there and then, exhausted or not, but Ray stepped in.</p><p>"No, Tyson, the…glowing." Ray said uncomfortably, not really knowing what to call it.</p><p>"Oh. Right." Tyson squirmed uncomfortably under his friends' combined glares. Max gave up in disgust and drifted off to sleep.</p><p>"Anything else?" Ray asked, sensing that Hilary wasn't finished.</p><p>"Yeah - but not much!" Hilary said quickly, realising Tyson had just about reached the end of his attention span, Max was asleep, and Ray wasn't much better, eyes dull and only half open.</p><p>"OK, blow us away!" Ray sighed, rubbing his gritty eyes with the back of his wrist. Nodding, Hilary started to talk again.</p><p>"So, that was the first time I felt the…" She paused for a minute, then decided to call it by the name she'd always thought of it as. " The…redness. Over the next eight years, it happened over and over again."</p><p>"Wait a minute," Tyson interrupted, frowning. "You said you were four when you started it. Four plus eight doesn't make fourteen, last time I checked anyway. Wait-" He started counting on his fingers. Hilary grinned</p><p>"I haven't had it since I joined up with you guys."</p><p>"Except for today," Tyson pointed out. "Ow, Ray, whadd'y do that for?" He rubbed his arm and tried to sulk. Hilary pointedly turned her back on him.</p><p>"So as I was saying, each time it happened, it got stronger. The first two or three times, it was just a bit more strength than usual, I used to use it on Sports Day. Then, I started getting violent. Mum would have to lock me in my room before it started, because not even her and dad could do anything to me once it had started."</p><p>"How long did it usually last for?" Ray asked, suddenly.</p><p>"About an hour or so. Why?" Hilary asked, then gasped as she remembered what had brought her out of it so early. She blushed furiously, Ray colouring slightly as well. Tyson looked from one to the other, suddenly noticing the bruises on both of their lips. He grinned. If this was what he thought it was, he was gonna have a <em>lot </em>of fun with it!</p><p>He got out of his chair. "We should probably get moving, guys, the nurse's coming, and we don't exactly look like we've been quiet!" His eyes moved from Hilary and Ray's tear-stained faces to Max, asleep and with congealed blood all over his side. Ray and Hilary followed his gaze.</p><p>"Yep, you're right for once, Tyson!" Hilary giggled, pulling herself and Ray out of their chairs. Tyson manoeuvred Max onto his back and, all laughing, they ran out of the room, leaving the nurse to peer in suspiciously and tut quietly to herself.</p>
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<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Hilary yawned and stretched luxuriously. It was so warm! She really didn't want to get out of bed, but… She nervously poked one foot out of the covers, still with her eyes closed, then drew it back with a muffled shriek, diving under the covers again. Nope! She was staying right here!</p><p>"Come on, Hilary! Out you get!" Hilary shot out from under the covers as if she'd just received an electric shock.</p><p>"R-Ray!" she spluttered, trying to look angry. "What the heck are you doing in here?" Ray grinned, his amber eyes dancing with mischief.</p><p>"Well you looked <em>so </em>comfy, I'd thought I'd come and see what I could do about it! After all, 14 hours sleep is enough for anyone!" Hilary, pretending to be offended, took a shot at him with the pillow. She laughed, swinging the pillow, daring him to come near. He did, and they had a few moments of chaos, with Ray dodging every swipe she aimed. Shaking with laughter, Hilary held up her hands.</p><p>"OK, OK, I surrender!"</p><p>"Good!" Ray said teasingly. His expression changed suddenly as a thought hit him.</p><p>"What's up, Ray?"</p><p>"I was just wondering… your…redness…" Ray stated, uncomfortably. "When it isn't happening…. Can you sense it at all? Like, know if it's still there or not?"</p><p>"Ye-es," said Hilary uncertainly. "I think so… it's only been one day, so… probably…"</p><p>"Go on. Try it now!" Ray urged.</p><p>More bemused than anything else, Hilary complied, delicately feeling round the space where it normally occupied. "It-it's not there!" she whispered, hardly able to believe it.</p><p>"You sure?" Ray asked excitedly.</p><p>"Yeah!" Hilary replied, joy rising inside her. Free! Free at last of that stinking menace that had haunted her for most of her life! "But…how?" she said softly, bemused. Ray took her hand. Hilary looked up in surprise. Ray's face was deadly serious.</p><p>"I've got an idea," he said quietly. "Shall we test it? Just to make sure?"</p><p>"Ray…" Hilary was breathless. If he meant what she thought he meant… "If you want to…" she said shyly, blushing pink.</p><p>"You'd better believe I do!" Ray exclaimed, a huge, Tyson-like grin lighting up his face.</p><p>Serious again, Ray sat down on Hilary's bed, taking hold of her hand. "Do you?" he asked cautiously. "Really?"</p><p>"Yes..." Hilary's reply was almost inaudible as the two of them brought their faces closer together, till they could have counted each other's eyelashes. Ray ran his hands softly over Hilary's face, while she began to carefully unwind the long strip of cloth keeping his hair in place. When that was done, she gently shook out his hair, running her fingers through the silky black strands, Ray's breath hot on her face.</p><p>"I love you, Hilary."</p><p>"I love you too, Ray."</p>
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